Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Russian writer, publicist, poet and politician (1918-2008) · Russia · Writers · Died at 89

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is read about 2,720 times a day, in 120 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 18 October 2026

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He wrote the book that cracked open the Soviet prison system for the world to see. The Gulag Archipelago sold tens of millions of copies and mounted a head-on challenge to the Soviet state - earning Solzhenitsyn a Nobel Prize, exile, and a place in history as the dissident who refused to look away.

Writers Writer / Author Literature History Fiction Screenwriting Theatre Poetry

A life in dates

2008Died3 August 2008Honorary Doctor of Syracuse UniversityAwardInternational Botev PrizeAward2007State Prize of the Russian FederationAward1998Lomonosov Gold MedalAward1983Templeton PrizeAward1975“There is a word very commonly used these days: "anti-communism." It's a very stupid word, badly put together.”In their words30 June 1975Speech in Washington D.C. (30 June 1975), published in Solzhenitsyn: The Voice of Freedom (1975), p. 30Read the whole statement

1974The Hillman Prize for Book JournalismAward1973“It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes.”In their words"Peace and Violence" (1973)Read the whole statement

“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.”In their wordsThe Gulag Archipelago (1973)Read the whole statement

“Macbeth’s self-justifications were feeble - and his conscience devoured him. Yes, even Iago was a little lamb too.”In their wordsThe Gulag Archipelago (1973)Read the whole statement

1970Nobel Prize in LiteratureAward1969“Blow the dust off the clock. Your watches are behind the times.”In their words12 November 1969Letter to the Secretariat of the Soviet Writers’ Union (12 November 1969) as translated in Solzhenitsyn: A Documentary Record (1970) editedRead the whole statement

1967“Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity.”In their wordsOctober 1967Letter to three students (October 1967) as translated in Solzhenitsyn: A Documentary Record (1970) edited by Leopold Labedz, “The StruggleRead the whole statement

1944Order of the Red StarAward1918Born11 December 1918

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Solzhenitsyn (right) and his long-time friend Mstislav Rostropovich (left) at the celebration of Solzhenitsyn's 80th birthday

Solzhenitsyn with Heinrich Böll in Langenbroich, West Germany, 1974

Solzhenitsyn looks out from a train, in Vladivostok, summer 1994, before departing on a journey across Russia. Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia after nearly 20 years in exile.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and many Russian public figures attended Solzhenitsyn's funeral ceremony, 6 August 2008.

Solzhenitsyn giving a speech at the State Duma on October 28, 1994

In their own words 10

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

10 statements, newest first

There is a word very commonly used these days: "anti-communism." It's a very stupid word, badly put together.
Jun 30, 1975, Speech in Washington D.C. (30 June 1975), published in Solzhenitsyn: The Voice of Freedom (1975), p. 30, Own words
In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State.
Dec 29, 1974, As quoted in The Observer (29 December 1974), Own words
It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes.
1973, "Peace and Violence" (1973), Own words

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Awards

Honorary Doctor of Syracuse University2008

International Botev Prize2008

State Prize of the Russian Federation2007

Lomonosov Gold Medal1998

Templeton Prize1983

The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism1974

Nobel Prize in Literature1970

Order of the Red Star1944

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class

Medal "For the Capture of Königsberg"

Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania

Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called

TEFI

Order of the Star of Romania

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Honorary Citizen of Ryazan

Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow

Family

Parents

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Partners

Child Ignat Solzhenitsyn

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About this person

Born in 1918 into a devout Russian Orthodox family, Solzhenitsyn turned atheist young and embraced Marxism-Leninism. Serving as a Red Army captain in World War II, he was arrested by SMERSH in 1944 and sentenced to eight years in the Gulag for criticizing Stalin in private letters. Prison turned him back toward Eastern Orthodox Christianity and gave him the material for a life's work. Released during the Khrushchev Thaw, he published One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in 1962 with Khrushchev's approval, then Cancer Ward, In the First Circle, and August 1914 abroad as the Soviet mood darkened. The Gulag Archipelago appeared in 1973; a year later, authorities stripped his citizenship and deported him to West Germany. He moved through Switzerland to Vermont, returned to Russia in 1994 after his citizenship was restored, and died there in 2008.

Country

Russia

In common with Aleksandr

David HewlettAlso in The First Circle (1992)

Tom CourtenayAlso in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1970)

Gleb PanfilovAlso in Case at the Station Krechetovka (1964)

Barry JacksonAlso in The Love-Girl and the Innocent (1973)

Elżbieta CzyżewskaAlso in The First Circle (1973)

Ruth HausmeisterAlso in Krebsstation (1970)

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